Paula Hammond - Features EditorWOW Wales One World Film Festival returns 20–28 March 2026 for its 25th edition, marking a quarter-century of international cinema for Welsh audiences and reaffirming WOW as Wales’ longest-running film festival.
The festival will take place across Pontio, Bangor (20–22 March) and Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Arad Goch, Aberystwyth (25–28 March), with special one-night-only event at Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea (20 March) and a full day at Theatr Gwaun, Fishguard (21 March).
The Festival Director Annita Nitsaidou says:
“It’s amazing to think WOW has been bringing world cinema to Wales for 25 years. Working on the festival, I’m constantly reminded how much film can open us up; to new places, new perspectives, and stories we might never otherwise come across. That’s what WOW has always been here for: connecting Welsh audiences with stories and places near and far and opening up the world through the big screen. We hope this year’s programme is another strong reminder of the power of film to do exactly that.”
The 2026 programme brings acclaimed recent work from across the world to screens in Wales, alongside a strengthened focus on collaboration and Welsh filmmaking. Key titles include Cherien Dabis’ All That’s Left of You, a sweeping, multi-generational drama rooted in the Occupied West Bank; Julia Kowalski’s Her Will Be Done (presented in partnership with Abertoir Film Festival), a contemporary folk-horror story of inheritance, repression and power; and the Welsh premiere of A Useful Ghost, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize winner, an audacious Thai film that blends grief, satire and the surreal with striking originality; and OCA by Karla Badillo, a mystical road-pilgrimage where visions, chance encounters and vast landscapes turn a simple mission into a searching test of faith.
WOW also presents Pyre by Vinod Kapri, an intimate Himalayan-set story of endurance and companionship, following an ageing couple as their village empties and the possibility of connection flickers back into view; and Yujin Lee’s Manok, screened in collaboration with
Aberration Cymru and followed by a director Q&A, a sharp K-queer comedy about a Seoul lesbian bar-owner taking on small-town politics.
WOW’s Ecosinema strand returns with films that confront what it means to witness, protect and live alongside the natural world, from fragile deep-ocean habitats to landscapes shaped by human conflict and change. It includes Eleanor Mortimer’s How Deep Is Your Love, Max Keegan’s The Shepherd and the Bear, alongside preview screenings of Ed Sayers’ Super Nature with the director joining for a live Q&A in Aberystwyth on Thursday 26 March.
A major new addition for 2026 is WOW × DIFF, a collaboration with Durban International Film Festival, featuring a co-curated strand connecting Wales and South Africa through new voices in cinema. The collaboration will be marked by a free, hosted event in Aberystwyth, inviting audiences into the curatorial exchange and the conversations behind the films.
The festival will also present its ‘Made in Wales’ Shorts programme, a WOW-curated selection championing short films made in Wales and/or by Welsh filmmakers, showcasing distinctive craft and contemporary Welsh perspectives in a dedicated programme.
Full programme details, ticket links, and event information are available at wowfilmfestival.com
